


I Would've Known (What I've Been Living For)

by Okay_and_Forever



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Light Angst, flangst, i call it flangst, it's kind of equal part fluff and angst, so i guess i'll tag it that too, the ending is sweet and i'm proud of it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-01-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:34:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22218646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Okay_and_Forever/pseuds/Okay_and_Forever
Summary: Hope slow dances with Lizzie at the decades dance, and they start to realize they're more than just friends.(I'm really bad at summaries, but the story is sweet. I promise.)
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson/Lizzie Saltzman
Comments: 4
Kudos: 117





	I Would've Known (What I've Been Living For)

Everything started on the day of the decade dance. That is, everything  _ officially _ started on the day of the dance; however, it’s become obvious that this story began long before anybody knew it was a possibility. Or maybe it never really did begin, but has simply existed, watching from a distance, waiting for the right moment to come along so that it could present itself to everybody. Maybe this story, this love, has been here all along.

~

“So let’s dance.” Hope takes a sip of her drink while speaking to hide the nervousness in her voice. It terrifies the young girl to think about how she would feel if Lizzie said no. If the only person on the planet that  _ truly  _ knows her decides that she isn’t worth even one dance, Hope thinks that might break her. She’s so nervous, in fact, that she doesn’t remember how they got to the middle of the dance floor together.

“If you tell anyone I said this, I  _ will  _ deny it,” Hope comes back to reality at the sound of Lizzie’s voice above the music, “But I’m really glad to have you back.”

Both girls smile so brightly the entire room becomes happier from the energy they are radiating as they hug each other for the first time since being reunited. And Hope thinks to herself, that in this moment she’s happy to be back at her old boarding school. Even though her boyfriend forgot that she exists. Even though he’s currently falling in love with somebody else. Even though she knows her stay in the world outside of Malivore will only last for a short time before she has to go back in. Maybe forever. Despite all of the bad, Hope is  _ happy  _ in the arms of her friend.

“I’m glad to have you back  _ with me. _ ” Lizzie whispers into Hope’s ear as they pull apart. And she really means it.

As the girls dance together, she thinks about nothing but Hope Mikaelson. Lizzie has waited her entire life for this moment, the moment that she’s able to truly call Hope her friend. And she isn’t afraid of being honest with herself about how she feels now. It’s a feeling of completion that she has never known, so at peace that she would wait another lifetime to be friends with Hope, because the way everything falls into place around her is worth all the pain, all the loneliness that she feels without her.

Lizzie’s shaken from her thoughts as the upbeat music shifts into a slow ballad. It doesn’t really sound like 80’s music, which means somebody must have bribed the DJ to play it. She knows Hope well enough that she doesn’t expect the girl to want to slow dance, especially not to something so romantic. And yes, Lizzie can tell even before the words come in that this is one of those sickeningly sweet songs that people only listen to when they are deeply in love. But as she turns to walk off of the dance floor, she feels Hope’s hand on her wrist. Gently pulling her back.

“One more dance?” Hope says so softly Lizzie almost doesn’t hear her, but she does, and she feels herself smiling just a little bit as her cheeks heat up in a light blush.

Lizzie’s surprised. And she can’t manage to get the words out for an answer, so instead she rests her hands on Hope’s shoulders, stepping closer when the other girl places her hands on her sides. As the words begin to pour out in the ballad, somehow mimicking how both girls feel about their friend, they realize how much more they are to each other.

_ I’ve waited a 100 years _

_ But I’d wait a million more for you _

_ Nothing prepared me for _

_ What the privilege of being yours would do _

_ If I had only felt _

_ The warmth within your touch _

_ If I had only seen _

_ How you smile when you blush _

_ Or how you curl your lip _

_ When you concentrate enough _

_ Well I would’ve known _

_ What I was living for all along _

_ What I’ve been living for _

_ Your love is my turning page _

_ Where only the sweetest words remain _

_ Every kiss is a cursive line _

_ Every touch is a redefined phrase _

_ I surrender who I’ve been for who you are _

_ For nothing makes me stronger than your fragile heart _

_ If I had only felt how it feels to be yours _

_ Well I would have known _

_ What I’ve been living for all along _

_ What I’ve been living for _

_ Though we’re tethered to the story we must tell _

_ When I saw you, well I knew we’d tell it well _

_ With a whisper, we will tame the vicious seas _

_ Like a feather bringing kingdoms to their knees _

And when the song ends, Hope knows exactly why she has spent her whole life feeling like something that never should have been born. Like her entire existence is a mistake. And it isn’t because of any reason she’s just casually accepted so she’d have a conveniently ready rebuttal for anyone who tries to change her mind.

Hope has been living at the Salvatore School for most of her life. And before then she spent her childhood waiting for her family to come home. But as soon as they did, they all had to leave again, and her mom sent her away. Hope’s life has been a tormenting series of clinging to people she knows will leave. Just like Landon does every time he gets scared of whatever threat everybody else is also facing, or if something hurts his feelings or confuses him. Just like Roman did after stringing her along to help his mother kill her mom. Just like her dad after she saw something scary that he didn’t know how to explain.

Now, Hope feels lonely all the time. She feels lonely when she’s with her friends. She feels lonely when she’s locked in her bedroom binge watching CutThroat Kitchen. She feels lonely when she’s in the middle of crowded places. But she doesn’t feel lonely when she’s with Lizzie.

“I don’t think my existence is a mistake, Liz,” Hope’s voice comes out barely above a whisper. The girls are outside now, sitting on a bench near the entrance to the school. “Not anymore.”

“Well, I’m glad you finally came to your senses,” Lizzie laughs a little bit before becoming serious again, “What changed your mind?”

“You,” Hope states simply, leaving her answer at that until Lizzie looks at her like she needs an explanation, which is fair enough so Hope continues, “I don’t believe lonely people are made on purpose, and for as long as I can remember, I’ve always been lonely. So, I guess with that on top of being the only tribrid in existence I didn’t think it was possible that I was here for a reason. And I know that Malivore is a reason, but that’s what I have to die for, not what I’ve been living for.

“I’m not lonely when you’re around. I never have been, even when you hated me and were mean to me all the time. Which means I’m not a lonely person and half of my reason for thinking I should’ve never been born is a lie. So who’s to say all of it isn’t?”

A few seconds go by without any response from Lizzie. Then a few more. Then a few more. Hope’s mind is running wild trying to figure out what the blonde might be thinking, but none of the explanations she comes up with are good. Lizzie’s sat beside her in deafening silence, so still there isn’t even a single movement to count as her reaction, until she turns slowly to look at Hope.

“. . .” Lizzie opens her mouth to say something, but no words come out. She thinks that maybe Hope’s speech knocked all the thoughts out of her brain, so maybe she should just say that. At least it would be something, “I- Hope, I-, Thoughts. . . Words. . . I don’t know how to. . . You know?”

“It’s alright, Liz. You don’t have to respond,” Hope looks into the eyes of the girl who she only thought of as a friend until a few minutes ago, “I just need you to know. . .”

Not knowing how to finish her sentence with words, Hope leans forward, placing a kiss gently on Lizzie’s lips. She hopes the gesture is able to communicate everything that neither one of them seems to be able to put into words. And maybe it was. Because Lizzie’s words return to her mind at the kiss like childhood memories rushing to the surface at the sight of old photographs.

“Ya’aburnee.”

**Author's Note:**

> The word Lizzie said to Hope at the end, "Ya'aburnee," is an Arabic word that doesn't translate directly into English. It's like saying that you hope you die before the other person so you don't have to lose them. The best way I can think to describe it is with a quote from Winnie the Pooh, "If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you."


End file.
